Viscous material spreader

ABSTRACT

Device for spreading butter or other viscous material uniformly across full width of dough sheet on belt conveyor, comprising a base removably mounted above conveyor with elongate, centrally disposed and laterally extending delivery slot therethrough, a casing removably attachable at lower end to the base and having an inlet at upper end, a labyrinth removably supported on the base within the casing, whereby removal of casing, labyrinth and base may readily be effected to facilitate cleaning the labyrinth being formed by a plurality of horizontal plates extending the full interior lateral length of the casing and spaced vertically from each other, with two apertures through the transverse centerline of the uppermost plate spaced on opposite sides of the inlet on centers one-fourth of the length of the plate from its ends, four slots spaced one-fourth the length of the plate from each other along both front and rear edges of the next lowermost or second plate, and eight apertures through transverse centerline of third plate spaced one-eighth the length of the plate from each other to provide uniform misaligned lateral spacing of all apertures and slots in the three upper plates, and a bottom plate narrower than the casing to insure equal distribution of material along doubly reversed paths between the center and the front and rear walls of the casing and successive plates from inlet to delivery slot, and a metering plate slidably mounted on the base for selective manual adjustment horizontally relative to the delivery slot to determine the rate of delivery of material therefrom.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Alfred L. Meyer Wood Dale, Ill. 21AppLNo. 817,684 [22] Filed Apr. 21, 1969 [45] Patented Oct.5,197l

[73] Assignee Anetsberger Brothers, Inc.

[54] VISCOUS MATERIAL SPREADER 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 118/24,

118/324, 118/410 [51] Int. Cl B05c 5/00 [50] Field of Search 118/324,

ABSTRACT: Device for spreading butter or other viscous materialuniformly across full width of dough sheet on belt conveyor, comprisinga base removably mounted above conveyor with elongate, centrallydisposed and laterally extending delivery slot therethrough, a casingremovably attachable at lower end to the base and having an inlet atupper end, a labyrinth removably supported on the base within thecasing, whereby removal of casing, labyrinth and base may readily beeffected to facilitate cleaning the labyrinth being formed by aplurality of horizontal plates extending the full interior laterallength of the casing and spaced vertically from each other, with twoapertures through the transverse centerline of the uppermost platespaced on opposite sides of the inlet on centers one-fourth of thelength of the plate from its ends, four slots spaced one-fourth thelength of the plate from each other along both front and rear edges ofthe next lowermost or [56] References Cited second plate, and eightapertures through transverse center- UNITED STATES PATENTS line of thirdplate spaced one-eighth the length of the plate 2,734,224 2/1956Winstead 1 18/410 x from each other to Provide uniform misalignedlateral Spacing 3 120 676 2/1964 Banamynem 401 232 X of all aperturesand slots in the three upper plates, and a bot- 3,333 567 3 1967 Rich eta1 1 13/410 X tom plate narrower than the casing to insure equaldistribution 2,307,858 1/1943 Rufo l5/Floor Treat of material alongdoubly reversed Paths between the center FOREIGN PATENTS and the frontand rear walls of the casing and successive plates from inlet todelivery slot, and a metering plate slidably 500,324 1 H1954 Italy118/3006 mounted on the base for Selective manual adjustment horizomPrimary Examin er.lohn P.Mclntosh tally relative to the delivery slot todetermine the rate of Attamey--Davis, Lucas, Brewer & Brugman deliveryof material therefrom.

.17 L E8 23 VI J1 11 67ZIL/ :'.q: 1 i7 15' .4 l. I A i a ia-e a"- 3 1VISCOUS MATERIAL SPREADER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates generally to production bakeryequipment, and more particularly to means for automatically spreadingbutter or other viscous material uniformly over a sheet of dough movedtherepast on a belt conveyor.

2. Description of the Prior Art Manifolds heretofore employed forspreading butter or other viscous materials as a layer on a relativelywide strip of dough moving therepast have not produced completelyuniform results and have been extremely difficult to clean, and in orderto prevent contamination in subsequent runs resulting from clogging,spoilage or rancidity, it is essential that such equipment be thoroughlycleaned after each production run or, at least, daily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes both of thesedifficulties by providing a spreader for delivering a uniform layer ofbutter or other viscous material over the full width of a sheet of doughmoved therepast on a conveyor, which comprises a base having an elongateand laterally extending delivery slot extending therethrough removablymounted above the conveyor, a casing removably attachable at its lowerend to the base and having an inlet for receiving the viscous materialunder pressure at its upper end, and a labyrinth removably supported onthe base within the casing between the inlet and the delivery slot,whereby all parts may readily be removed to facilitate cleaning. Theinvention also includes manually adjustable means for selectivelyvarying the effective width of the delivery slot to determine the rateof delivery of material therefrom.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a plan view of a viscous material spreader embodying theinvention mounted on the side frame members of a belt conveyor, withparts shown in horizontal section and parts broken away to betterillustrate the labyrinth;

FIG. 2 is a front view, as seen from the bottom of FIG. 1, with most ofthe parts in vertical section along the transverse centerline of thespreader; and

FIG. 3 is an end view, as seen from the right side of FIGS. 1 and 2,with parts broken away and shown in vertical section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly tothe drawings, a viscous material spreader embodying the features of thisinvention is therein disclosed as comprising a base, a casing and alabyrinth, which are indicated generally, respectively, by referencenumerals l1, l2 and 13. These several parts of the spreader are readilyseparable from each other and are mounted as a unit on longitudinalframe members 14 supporting in well-known manner an endless beltconveyor 15. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the base 11 comprises ahorizontally disposed manifold plate 16 suitably apertured to slidablyreceive the upper reduced end portions of four mounting posts 17 (FIG.1), with the lower reduced and threaded end portions of these posts 17extending through suitable apertures in the frame members 14 and securedto the latter by means of nuts 18 (FIGS. 2 and 3). With thisarrangement, the manifold plate 16 and the other parts of the instantspreader supported thereby may readily be lifted upwardly relative tothe mounting posts 17 for removal from the dough-working mechanism ofwhich the frame members 14 and conveyor 15 form a part.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the manifold plate 16 of the base 11includes an elongate and laterally extending delivery slot 19 whichextends therethrough on the transverse centerline of the plate forsubstantially the full width of the belt conveyor 15. The upper surfaceof the plate 16 is provided with a groove 21 which, as shown in FIG. I,defines the periphery of a rectangle in plan having rounded corners.This groove 21 receives an O-ring 22 which functions as a seal betweenthe manifold plate 16 and the casing 12.

The casing 12 is in the form of an inverted hollow rectangle and isprovided with a horizontal marginal flange 23 at its lower end engagingwith the O-ring 22 and removably secured to the upper surface of themanifold plate 16 by a plurality of cap screws 24. Centrally of itsupper wall, the casing 12 is provided with a flanged inlet 25 which issecured in well-known manner by a union 26 to the end of a feed conduit27 supplying butter or other viscous material under pressure. The meansfor imposing such pressure upon the viscous material and delivering thesame through the conduit 27 are not illustrated because they do not forma specific part of this invention. Any suitable means for this purposemay be employed.

Disposed within the casing 12 between this inlet 25 and the manifoldplate 16 is the labyrinth 13 previously noted which comprises aplurality of horizontally disposed plated 28, 29, 31 and 32 that aresubstantially the same length as the interior lateral dimension of thecasing 12, with the uppennost three 28, 29 and 31 also being ofsubstantially the same width as the interior of casing 12. The first 0ruppermost plate 28 is provided with two apertures 33 through thecenterline of the plate and spaced on opposite sides of the inlet 25 oncenters onefourth of the length of the plate from its ends. Thislocation and spacing of the uppermost apertures 28 will perhaps best beappreciated from the showing in FIG. 2. The next lowermost or secondplate 29 is provided with four slots 34 therethrough which are spacedone-fourth of the length of the plate from each other along both frontand rear edges thereof. The next lowermost or third plate 31 is providedalong its transverse centerline with eight apertures 35 the centers ofwhich are spaced one-eighth of the length of the plate from each other,with the centers of the two outermost being disposed one-sixteenth ofthe length of the plate from its ends. It will thus be seen,particularly from FIG. 2, that these apertures 33 and 35 and the slots34 in the top three plates 28, 29 and 31 are uniformly misalignedlaterally which ensures uniform lateral distribution of the viscousmaterial introduced into the casing 12 through the inlet 25 over thefull width of the casing. The fourth or lowermost plate 32, as best seenin FIG. 3, is narrower than the interior of the casing 12 to providemarginal slots or laterally extending orifices 36 between eachlongitudinal edge of this plate and the adjacent front and rear wall ofthe casing 12. With this arrangement and the disposition of theapertures 33 and 35 and the slots 34 previously described, equaldistribution of the viscous material from the inlet 25 to the deliveryslot 19 in the manifold plate 16 will be assured by being directed alongdoubly reversed paths between the center and the front and rear walls ofthe casing 11 and the several plates 28, 29, 31 and 32. Such paths arebest seen in FIG. 3 and are indicated therein by the downwardly directedarrows. While the above-described spacing and arrangement of theapertures and slots 3336 is important to ensure uniform distribution ofthe viscous material from the casing inlet 25 to the full length of thedelivery slot 19 in the base or manifold plate 16, it also is importantthat the total areas of such apertures or slots in any one of the plates28, 29, 31 or 32 not be less than that of the next adjacent uppermostplate or of the inlet 25. Expressed somewhat differently, each of theseplates making up the labyrinth l3 and its imperforate area definesvertical pathways therepast separated by the imperforate area, and it isimportant that the total imperforate area of each successively lowerplate be less than that of the next preceding plate above it.

The labyrinth 13 as a whole, comprising these plates 28, 29, 31 and 32,is removably mounted upon and supported by the upper surface of themanifold plate 16 by means of a pair of lower spacers 37 below each endof the bottom plate 32 and a pair of bolts 38 threadedly engaging attheir lower ends in suitably tapped apertures in each of these spacers37. Interposed between adjacent ends of each of these plates andslidably mounted on the shanks of each pair of bolts 38 are threeintermediate spacers 39. In assembling these several parts of thelabyrinth 13 to provide a unitary structure, the four bolts 38 are firstdropped through suitable apertures in the upper plate 28, anintermediate spacer 39 is then slid onto each pair of bolts, the threeremaining plates similarly are successively mounted on the bolts withintermediate spacers 39, and the lower ends of the bolts are screwedinto the tapped apertures provided in the lower spacers 37.

To facilitate proper positioning of the assembled labyrinth 13 on themanifold plate 16, the latter may be provided with a pair of stop plates41 (FIGS. 1 and 2) having depending tongues engageable in the ends ofthe transverse delivery slot 19 and secured to the plate 16 by suitablecap screws 42. With this arrangement, the stop plates 41 will engage theinner vertical surfaces of the lower spacers 37 when the labyrinth isplaced in proper position on the upper surface of the manifold plate. Asbest seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the casing 12 may then be placed over thelabyrinth and onto the sealing O-ring 22 and secured by the cap screws24 to the manifold plate 16 to provide a leakproof connection therewith.

Means also are provided for selectively varying the effective width ofthe delivery slot 19 in the manifold plate 16 which comprises a manuallyadjustable metering plate 43 slidably mounted on the undersurface of thebase or manifold plate 16 for horizontal movement relative thereto. Asbest seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, this metering plate 43 is suspended from andsecured to the base or manifold plate 16 by means of a stud 44 extendingupwardly through a suitable aperture adjacent each end of the plate 43and threaded at its upper end for engagement with a tapped aperture in alocking knob 45, each stud 44 also extending through an elongatedaperture 46 (FIG. 1) in the manifold plate 16. With this arrangement,the two studs 44 and locking knobs 45 comprise .bolt-and-nut means orsecuring the metering plate 43 in desired position on the manifold plate16. Each of these studs 44 also extends through a suitable circularaperture in one end of a link 47 interposed between the plate 16 and theassociated knob 45. As best seen in FIG. 1, the other end of each link47 is provided with another circular aperture for rotatably receiving acircular flange comprising the intermediate portion of an eccentric 48,the lower end of which comprises a smaller depending post 49 which isoffset from the center of the flange and is tapped to receive the upperthreaded end of the cap screw 51 (FlG. 2) extending upwardly through asuitable aperture in the manifold plate 16. With this arrangement,loosening of the two cap screws 51 will permit manual rotation of theeccentries 48 about the centers of their pivot posts 49 to move thelinks 47 longitudinally. Such movement will be permitted, of course,only if the locking knobs 45 first are turned to release the meteringplate 43 for movement relative to the base or manifold plate 16, and itwill be limited by the elongated apertures 46 in the base. This willenable the rear edge of the metering plate 43, which preferably ischamfered as shown in FIG. 3, to be displaced relative to the deliveryslot 19 to selectively determine the effective area of that slot and therate of delivery of the viscous material therefrom. Since a dough sheeton the belt conveyor 15 is being moved past the delivery slot 19, as inthe direction of the straight arrows in FIGS. 1 and 3, this will resultin spreading a layer of the viscous material thereon, the thickness ofwhich may thus be varied as desired.

What is claimed is:

l. A spreader for viscous material, comprising a base having an elongateand laterally extending delivery slot therethrough for depositing theviscous material, a casing removably attachable at its lower end to saidbase and having an inlet at its upper end for receiving the viscousmaterial under pressure, and a labyrinth disposed within said casingbetween said inlet and said delivery slot for directing the flow ofviscous material therethrough to distribute the same to said deliveryslot uniformly over its full length, wherein said labyrinth comprises aplurality of horizontal plates extending the full interior laterallength of said casing and spaced vertically from each other.

2. A spreader according to claim 1, wherein each said horizontal platedefines vertical pathways therepast separated by imperforate areas andthe total imperforate area of each successively lower plate IS less thanthat of the next preceding plate above it.

3. A spreader according to claim 2, wherein said vertical pathwaysdefined by each said plate are spaced in a front-torear directionrelative to those defined by the plates adjacent thereto.

4. A spreader according to claim 3, wherein said vertical pathwaysdefined by the uppermost said horizontal plate are spaced laterallyrelative to said casing inlet.

5. A spreader according to claim 4, wherein said vertical pathwaysdefined by the next two of said plates below said uppermost plate aresuccessively spaced laterally relative to each other and to those ofsaid uppermost plate.

1. A spreader for viscous material, comprising a base having an elongateand laterally extending delivery slot therethrough for depositing theviscous material, a casing removably attachable at its lower end to saidbase and having an inlet at its upper end for receiving the viscousmaterial under pressure, and a labyrinth disposed within said casingbetween said inlet and said delivery slot for directing the flow ofviscous material therethrough to distribute the same to said deliveryslot uniformly over its full length, wherein said labyrinth comprises aplurality of horizontal plates extending the full interior laterallength of said casing and spaced vertically from each other.
 2. Aspreader according to claim 1, wherein each said horizontal platedefines vertical pathways therepast separated by imperforate areas andthe total imperforate area of each successively lower plate is less thanthat of the next preceding plate above it.
 3. A spreader according toclaim 2, wherein said vertical pathways defined by each said plate arespaced in a front-to-rear direction relative to those defined by theplates adjacent thereto.
 4. A spreader according to claim 3, whereinsaid vertical pathways defined by the uppermost said horizontal plateare spaced laterally relative to said casing inlet.
 5. A spreaderaccording to claim 4, wherein said vertical pathways defined by the nexttwo of said plates below said uppermost plate are successively spacedlaterally relative to each other and to those of said uppermost plate.